Cuban tobacco
 

I know this question is stupid, but I'm curious and clueless..
So can a cigar manufacture from lets say Dom Rep import cuban tobacco to put into their cigar's seeing as their are no restrictions.. or is the thought of transporting bales of tobacco a stupid ass idea lol idk dont kill me .. was just wondering

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

Even assuming someone could get the Cuban leaf (Habanos does not export raw tobacco for others to use) the primary market for Non-Cuban cigars is the US, so it would be self-defeating for say, a Dominican cigar factory to blend with Cuban leaf and thereby lose the ability to sell in its biggest market. So no, until the Embargo is lifted, you will only find Cuban puros as a seperate entity with everyone else blending or making puros as they wish. If the embargo is lifted, you may slowly see blends but it will be at Cuba's pace and discretion as to how they will mete out their most precious resource.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

thx for the explanation.. would be awesome tho, can you imagine the blends!! Mexican filler Nic binder Cuban wrapper hahaha one day...

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I'm a Puros man. ;)

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

Cuban tobacco would get lost blended with anything else...part of the allure of a CC puro is the taste...there's a definite difference between the taste of CC's vs. any and all NC's...sort of a twang that NC's don't have...it's hard to describe...

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

The only answer you need to that question is that Cuba would not allow anyone else using their tobacco.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I am not a big fan of Cuban tobacco, but they do have some good cigars. You will not see any Cubans in USA until the embargo is lifted. Hopefully it is done soon. However, lifting this embargo could make the already expensive price of a CC skyrocket even more.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

The issue is.. its not only illegal to import things from cuba to the US... but also ANYTHING with cuban origin... Meaning just cause it came in from DR doesnt make it ok, nothing that was originally produced in cuba can legally be possesed here.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

Expensive? That is a, widely held, misconception my friend. On the whole, Cuban cigars are much less expensive than nc's. Much less.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

Thats not actually a very true statement. ;)

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I think we need to have a chat with Altadis, Kelly. ;)
I believe the card.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

He's from Canada. They ARE expensive there.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

Agreed :tu

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

True but you don't have to buy in Canada. :tu

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

In speaking with several industry insiders, the Cuban blenders are all ready experimenting with "imported" tobaccos. I did not believe it when I heard this the first time, but having it confirmed by people that "used to be" key people in the Cuban cigar industry, I now believe it. So don't be suprised when you see Cuban cigars that are not puros.
Garry

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

They are expensive here in Canada. Despite the fact that we do not have an embargo, and that we can easily access CC's, it does not make them inexpensive. CC's and NC's are heavily taxed here in Montreal. A typical CAO Brazilia could go for 18$ at a local B&M. Also, we have no choice but to buy the CC's from here. We cannot purchase them from Cubas and ship them here. We will be heavily taxed again. However, we may bring 1 box (and only 1) per person when visiting cuba. We can declare only 1 box and bring in a few more, but then again, I am sticking to the legalities of this matter.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

They would love to get their hands on Connecticut wrapper. It's tough to grow tobacco in Cuba that isn't chewed full of bug holes.
It certainly wouldn't be but a two minute consideration for them, I'm sure.
Iirc, pre-embargo cc's were nearly all, if not all, made with Connecticut wrappers.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

If you're paying $18 for a CAO Brazilia in Canada, it would be more appropriate to simply state that cigars are expensive there, CC or NC. I've spent less than that on a fiver of Brazilia before SCHIP was passed.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I myself am waiting for Cameroon wrapped.:dr

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I would like to see a blend that combined the rich mouthfeel and taste of Nicaraguan tobacco with the wider aromatic horizons of Cuban leaf, say a Nic Corojo wrapper, Cuban Binder and filler with a bit of Nic Ligero in the filler for some kick. Now that would be a hell of a cigar.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

Just the nic wrapper with no ligero would be incredible, I bet. I'd think the ligero would overpower the other filler. It'd sure be awesome to try it, regardless!!! :D

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

Hell Scott, just soak and peel the wrapper off a DPG blue and put it on a Siglo VI and you've made that cigar yourself;)

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

You do unless you want to risk VERY expensive tariffs/duties/fines being applied by the friendly customs agent to your shipment of chocolate from Switzerland. Especially considering the Swiss have recently changed their shipping guidelines the odds of packages making it through customs and into Canada unaffected are less and less.

Welcome to taxation :( This is also the reason why no one in Canada thought that SCHIP was a particularly big deal. Even with the increase in taxation resulting from that bill, the taxes applied to tobacco in the US are still just a very small fraction of what we're dinged with up here.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I've never heard that. I did, however, read a claim once (but only once) that most if not all pre-embargo wrappers were sun-grown instead of shade-grown.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I have been told by several folks that the Cubans are now importing tobacco because they simply don't have enough for all the cigars they produce. Not sure if this is true, but it kinda makes sense. Then again, could just be sour grapes from folks who can't get Cuban cigars.........

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I seriously doubt that.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

One of the owners of a shop I frequent in Germany has mentioned that they fear that when the US embargo is finally lifted, Europe will no longer be be able to obtain CCs because they will all go to the states.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

That rumor has been floating around for many, many years. It might have some truth to it, or it might not have any. What it is though is often repeated, but there has never been any credible documentation to back it up. I think Rolando Reyes even once claimed in CA that he was selling tobacco to Cuba. Now isn't that just convenient, a non-Cuban cigar manufacturer making a statement subtly degrading Cuban cigars in a periodical that is widely circulated in the country that is the primary source of sales for his cigars, and Cuban cigars are one of his competitors.

It's a good rumor for the NC producers to have out there, but anyone can claim anything, regardless of a lack of proof. It's very unlikely that Cubatabaco is going to file a lawsuit for libel in the US.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

This goofy rumor's been happening for years now. There's no way in Hell Cuba would pay precious money or trade other valuable resources for tobacco they consider inferior. And besides that, there's no evidence whatsoever of tobacco shipments of any kind going into Cuba. And lastly, this rumor always seems to be spread by "people in the industry" who have a vested interest in misleading you and improving the image of their product and detracting from the image of their world competitor, and who aren't necessarily trustworthy just because they "would know" if it was happening. I don't trust anyone who is or is trying to sell me something.

Cuba has enough tobacco for the cigars they produce; this is because their production is limited by the tobacco. They only produce cigars if they can make them. They are preparing for a possible "sudden demand increase" (ahem) by testing and approving new fields for planting, so they do still have a good bit of potential for growth in production. At least that's my interpretation of the information.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I love hearing this from major companies Reps. That and that if you buy Cuban cigars, at least half the box will be plugged. I just smile and nod my head. :r

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

Man that pisses me off.
Must be only me that it happens to.:r

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I heard that everything that fails drawtest doesn't go back to be reworked, it really goes into a special storage area just waiting for your order to come in.

I'd start airboarding the fish if I were you, they must be in cahoots with the manufacturer and vendors.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

Yeah, I always request that I not get the boxes marked "For Carlos in S. Florida". :r

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

LMAO!:r

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I bet every Carlos in S. Florida has cigars with draw problems.:D

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

The embargo is not going anywhere.

But if it ever does get lifted, have fun looking for legit cigars, or cigars that are made well for that matter:rolleyes:

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

That is why I take this with a large grain of salt! The other oft-repeated statement I hear is that the Cuban fields have been worked to death, and the quality is now poor. Dunno, but the ones I have had sure do taste good! and they weren't all vintage, either.:tf

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I agree. Add taxes on top of that and the em-bar-geaux going away would be a terrible thing.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

Honestly I don't want to see the embargo end from a cigar buying point of view. They're a lot cheaper than domestics. Now for the Cuban people, yes I would.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

When I saw that statment I was thinking he clearly hadn't been to Mr Rudo or Mr Chens domicile.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

According to the rules laid out by the Bush administration, as a US citizen you aren't allowed to consume a Cuban product anywhere in the world, even if it's legal where you happen to be... Any nagging guilt I might have felt about buying the product of expropriation was erased by the satisfaction of giving the finger to my own overreaching government, so I can now enjoy Habanos guilt free. Thanks W!

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

"Cuban seed tobaccos grown in Nicaragua and Cuba. The wrapper would be from Cuba. The binder leaves would be from Nicaragua. For the ligero tobacco in the filler, he would use two types, one from Esteli and the other from Jalapa in Nicaragua. The other filler components, seco and viso, would come from Cuba, the former from Villa Clara, the latter from Pinar del Rio. That Cigar, he says with pride, would score 100 points."
-Don Pepin Garcia

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

And that settles that :banger

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

How so? :confused:

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I am a pepin whore... if he thinks its a good thing, and the embargo lifts, I for one welcome the new blends

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

I would smoke that cigar, for sure, but I still like puros in general; Nicaraguan, Cuban even the occasional Dominican, they give a much more distinct flavor profile. A Nic/Cuban blend could be a great cigar, but it wouldn't replace the delicate nuance of a Cuban puro.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

If it's not broken, why fix it? I still fear the day the Embargo is lifted.


-Gianni-

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

What's to fear about it? Chances are with an influx of CC's it might put the NC's in the position of being more competitive in their pricing and lower our costs IMO...since we'll have more choices the NC makers are going to have to compete for our business with the Cubans as I'm sure a lot of cigar smokers will make a switch...of course, that could raise the prices of the CC's because of supply and demand, but that could still put the domestic market in the position of having to woo us a little more, with better product and pricing...

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

Criollo until about mid '30s. At which point they developed Corojo (derivative of Criollo), which became their staple until the big changeover in late '90s.

Re: Cuban tobacco
 

That is one of my fears. I enjoy the prices that I pay. I feel if Embargo is lifted, supply and demand will increase. The quality could potentially suffer and the prices increase. There are plenty of non-Cuban cigars I enjoy. I just can't justify the cost of them in comparison. I also feel cigars, like everything else, has become a market of advertising and "this is the best". I'd admit my largest fear is potential quality loss, price increase, another thing to get taxed and the loss of relationships I've built with my sources. The "status" I could care less about.


-Gianni-